


Dancing from Past to Present

by Lazchan



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-03
Updated: 2017-02-03
Packaged: 2018-09-21 16:26:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9557153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lazchan/pseuds/Lazchan
Summary: Viktor is trying to learn more about Yuuri and those around him that saw him go from one discipline to another help him out.





	

Mari wasn’t what to think of the fancy skater that suddenly crashed in their inn. She knew more about skating than her parents did, but even her parents knew of Yuuri's crush on the Russian figure skater. He was the whole reason why Yuuri concentrated on figure skating. She did know one thing, though—she had to have a talk with him over just  _ how _ he was handling her little brother.

She stared down at him, sprawled over the couch in “his” room and scowled, shutting the door behind her, making him jerk up from the sudden sound. “We need to talk,” she said. Her English wasn’t as good as Yuuri’s, but she knew the she could get her points across.  _ I’m sure as shit not trying to speak in Russian and he can’t speak enough Japanese to get by without Yuuri whispering a translation in his ear.  _ He still looked confused and she sighed that she had to clarify for him. “About Yuuri.”

He sat up a little, but his hands still rested in the oversized dog that he had brought with him to Japan. “Yuuri is not here right now,” his voice was slow and cautious. “He said that he wanted time alone.” The pout on his face didn’t sit well with a man as old as he was and Mari snorted at his reaction, slumping across from him.

“I know he isn’t here,” she rolled her eyes. “He is spending time with his friends, away from  _ your _ influence, so that he can enjoy skating.” She wanted to say  _ to enjoy it for itself, to not be judged, to not have you hover and lecture _ , but she didn’t have all the words in English. 

“You are saying he does not enjoy it with me?” The pout was growing bigger and she resisted the urge to shake him. It wouldn’t be polite, he might kick up a fuss and then Yuuri really would cry over Viktor being hurt, even though Viktor had hurt her brother. 

“Yuuri…” she sighed. “Yuuri thinks a lot of you. He--” she waved her hand. “He admires you.” Her eyes narrowed. “So why did you call my brother a pig?” she demanded. That was what she was really here for, not to stroke his ego and make him feel better about himself. Yuuri would let this Viktor call him any name, would believe any insult, because it was his idol saying such things. “He isn’t one,” she said harshly. 

There was a moment of silence and Mari wondered if she spoke in Japanese after all and she would have to try again. Viktor’s hands curled tighter in the dog’s fur and she had a suddenly flash of Yuuri doing the same thing with Viichan, holding onto something solid when he was too nervous to speak on something. 

“I… I only said that to encourage him.” The words were pulled out slowly, uncertainly, as if he suddenly realized that, just perhaps, the wording was  _ wrong _ for someone as fragile as her little brother. “He was not as fit as a figure skater should be…”

“He also is not a pig,” Mari snapped. “Is this normal with… with Russia people?” The words were wrong, but she kept her tone demanding so that she knew what he meant. “To try and say nice things with insults?” Viktor hadn’t seen the way her brother’s face had crumpled after he was alone, the way he stared down at his stomach when he was alone in the small family shrine room. He had fought with his weight his entire life.

“He needed …” He sighed. “Maybe I was too harsh,” he agreed, “but I am not the only one who says such things!” He looked determined to keep on this point. “Yura calls him such names as well!” 

The name threw her off for a moment, but she only poked him harder for that, disbelief in her voice. “You are not fifteen,” she snapped. “Yurio treats Yuuri like the child he is. Are you saying that you are no better than a teenager?” The look she gave him was scathing. “Although the way you are leading my little brother on…” In her annoyance, she was slipping into Japanese he probably had no idea how to interpret. 

“I am just trying to get him fit. I may have exaggerated.” He was starting to look contrite. “I will apologize to him, this I promise.”

“Good.” She eyed him and leaned back. “So what are you planning here?” she demanded. “Are you serious about this? Yuuri does not need a bad coach.”

At that, his smile turned wide and happy and she was taken back by the honesty there. It was almost creepier than the false looks she saw in all the interviews Yuuri made her watch. “I want the world to see what a great skater he is.”

“Hmph. You think he can do it?” Mari had no doubt about her brother, but he always doubted himself.

“He is already doing the work,” he shrugged. “With only a little sass. This surprised me...he can joke.”

“Yuuri will talk back when he knows you,” she shrugged, relaxing more. If Yuuri was showing some of his spirit around Viktor, it showed he trusted him, which meant he had to be less cruel in his words. 

“How long has he skated?” Viktor was obviously trying to find answers from her that Yuuri didn't feel was necessary to share. “I tried searching, but…” He gave a wide shrug. “He does not share with me videos or pictures. He is very shy.” He gave another pout and she was starting to wonder if he was the teenager and Yurio the adult. 

She wondered how much to tell him; she had only planned to lecture him, but if seemed genuinely interested, maybe it would help him with training Yuuri. It wasn't as if she would be divulging secrets, but she also didn't want Viktor to have the wrong impression, either. She also wasn't sure she could explain it well enough.

“Ask Minako,” she said finally. “She taught him first.” She got up and glared at him. “You listen to her about Yuuri and you be nicer to him. No more tales of him being a pig.” 

He held up his hands and smiled. “I will use other words,” he promised. “I will be nicer, but still tough,” he warned. “Coach first, friend second.”

“He needs the push,” she agreed, “but no more insults.” She had to get back to work, but she would be watching Viktor. She would also talk to Minako to warn her. Still, she could tell he still wanted to say something, ask something and she could use the excuse that he was a guest to stick around and indulge him for the moment. 

“Do you think… he still wants me to be around?” he asked, uncertainly. His fingers were buried deep into his dog’s fur and he held the oversized monster closer to him. “I--I want to be his coach, yes, but…” he bit his lip. “I also want to know him. I do not want to cause him distress.”

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “If Yuuri honestly didn’t want you around, he would say so,” she said finally. “He wouldn’t lie about that. Just don’t … abuse that trust,” she remembered the sad, broken expression of her brother when he came home, not to his poodle, but to the picture of him, of moving past the trophies and pictures of his prior victories, of hiding in his room instead of eating meals.

She thought of the brother that would bounce on his toes as he ran toward a limited edition poster of Viktor Nikforov, eager to hang it up in his room, excitedly telling her that ‘one day, I’ll see him in person, Mari. I can compete on the same stage as him.’ Of hours of practicing with nothing but ballet and videos from the internet teach him how to move on ice as easily as his idol did. 

“Take care of Yuuri,” she said finally, rested a hand on the top of his head. He was a kid too, in a lot of ways. There was something in his expression that reminded her of Yuuri’s; searching for something that was just out his reach, but with determination to find it with hard work.

He nodded and his hands relaxed from his dog’s fur, and his smile relaxed more and he held out a hand to her. “I will do my best,” he promised.

~

Minako looked over at Viktor, surprised and a little pleased that he was finally asking training questions about Yuuri. He knew now that he skated when he was upset, but now he was learning about his background.

“He trained with me since he was four,” she shrugged as she poured him a drink. “His mother thought it would be fun for him to learn a little with his sister, but he kept with it after Mari decided to not continue.”

“I know he trained and still trains with you,” Viktor frowned. “But what of his skating? Did he do it as young?” 

“Not as intensive,” she mused. “He skated on the weekends most of the time; he had a crush on Yuuko and was friends with her and Takeshi. It wasn't until he was twelve that he skated more than dance.” 

“Ah...so Yuuri was a dancer first,” he said softly. “That is why he dances on the ice and is more reserved with his jumps…” His expression was far away, then he frowned as if just processed her words. “When he was twelve? That is an odd age to suddenly switch disciplines. What happened?”

Now she outright smirked at him. This part was going to be good and it would be fun to see through look of shock on his face as well as impress upon him the influence he had on Yuuri. 

“You did,” she teased. She was having fun watching this young man stare after Yuuri like Yuuri had stared at him for years.  _ Kids are adorable.  _ “You skated in the Junior Worlds and Yuuri started researching figure skating after that. Before it was just the normal, fun stuff that little kids did on the ice, with a little ballet thrown in.”

She had the pleasure of seeing the blush streak across his face and it wasn't just from the alcohol. It couldn't have been a surprise that he influenced Yuuri; after all, the man had come here after seeing Yuuri skate his routine. This apparently this was something new, though. 

She was smug now. “He switched his focus from dancing to figure skating because he saw your sixteen year old self skating.” She snorted. “Even if he was more graceful than you were, he wanted to do what you could.”

“You have videos?” he asked, a little too eager and she stifled a laugh. “For uh...training purposes, yes.” He nodded so firmly that she thought he'd dislodge something. 

She leaned forward and topped off his glass. “I'm certain it's for training purposes and not because you're interested in my student.” She grinned even wider at the look of shock on his face. “You think I’m blind? Yuuri can’t see it and well…” her voice trailed off and suddenly it wasn’t as funny for the moment. “Well, that’s a hurdle you’ll have to overcome if you’re serious. But yes--I have videos of all my students and Yuuri was quite the serious dancer before decide to flip all the way to figure skating.”

“Are you-- disappointed?” he asked hesitantly, sipping at his drink now and watching her carefully as he asked the question. “I am not lying when I say that he is a very good figure skater. He does not realize all of what he can do… and he started so late,” he shook his head in disbelief. “This, I did not know--and I wonder what others would say to it.”

“No,” she said softly. “I told him that he should do what he loved; even before he decided to go all the way with skating, he still loved it. He said it was like dancing, only he could really fly,” she whispered. “He said it was the one place he could feel like he…” she sighed, breathing stirring loose strands of hair from the exhale. “Like he could do anything.” 

There was a lot she wasn’t going to tell him; he didn’t have the right. Mari had told her about his cruel words and even though Minako had harped about his weight, she never said he was a  _ pig _ and when she saw how distressed Yuuri had become, she had stopped the teasing and only pushed him in the way he’d respond to best; simple training and dance. 

She was suspicious that his being here was a lark; that he’d tire of it soon enough and leave Yuuri in the lurch. That he’d see this great thing for Yuuri that her student couldn’t hope to reach. She hoped that she was wrong; Yuuri needed someone to push him to move further and further; his last coach hadn’t had a firm enough hand and Yuuri had collapsed because of it.

“Well, come on, then--” she held out a hand to him. “Maybe you can see something that Yuuri did as a kid that can help you train him now.” She carefully put away the glasses and alcohol, taking his now-empty glass. “My apartment is above the bar and I have all my footage there. For the ice skating, though, you’ll have to talk to Yuuko and Takeshi.”

“I have talked to them before,” he said slowly, but he followed her out the door as she locked up the small bar. “They told me about his childhood some; that he did not have many friends.” He looked sober at that. “I cannot see why, when he can express himself so beautifully on the ice.”

She gave him a dry look at that. “Oh, really?” she asked. She could get back a little of her own by his earlier words. “Do you think the other students understood why he ran to the ballet studio or ice rink all the time?” she asked. “By the time he got into the shape that other people found ‘acceptable’, it was too late for him to form any bonds and then soon after that, he dedicated everything he had to catching up in a sport that only lasts so long.”

He made a face at that, as if he was remembering something and then shook his head forcefully, as if to dislodge unhappy thoughts. “Ah, but let us focus on the dancing,” he said instead. “I want to see Yuuri as he grew up. I … I want to understand him better, so that I can become his friend and his coach.”

She had to give him credit for trying and with Yuuri, that was really the first step.”Well, you won’t find a lot of videos with me,” she warned. “It’s all recitals and some individual pieces. There wasn’t any point in filming my classes, of course--but there were a lot of small performances that Yuuri performed in.” She felt a proud smile spreading across her face. “We even traveled to the city to show off his skills. Even when he was ten, he was still quite good… but by that time, he was already dancing for six years.”

Viktor brightened and nodded. “I wish to see this,” he said quickly. “Please…” 

“Mmm…” she pulled out a dvd and gestured for him to sit. “Here, watch the last recital he did before he lost his heart to figure skating,” she said softly. She wondered if he would see how even as a child, Yuuri moved with natural grace and if that really would help him with Yuuri to translate all of that further to the ice, but…

“I only want to see him as a dancer,” Viktor reassured her. “I want to work with his confidence and if he had that as a child with dancing then…” he shrugged fluidly, attention moving to the screen as the chatter of Japanese filled the room, before everything quieted and the lights turned on the stage. 

Even for a children’s production, it was more serious than Viktor would have thought; each move was executed and without even any prompting by Minako, he sought out Yuuri. Nothing overly fancy, nothing of what an adult dancer could accomplish, but each leap was done perfectly each step flowed neatly into the next and already Viktor was making mental notes on how even such basic moves could be translated onto the ice. 

Minako watched him with careful eyes as he was entranced by the short performance, before turning her eyes to the twelve-year old Yuuri. It was right before he had discovered Viktor’s skating and when most of his eyes were set on nothing but dance. She almost missed the future that could have been, but she knew that ultimately, even with Yuuri’s self-doubt, he had made the right choice. 

~

“So you really want to watch these videos?” Yuuko gave him a suspicious look and then glanced over at Yuri, who was lounging in the locker area next to Viktor. “The both of you?” Minako had mentioned Viktor wanting to see Yuuri’s skating ‘for training purposes’, he called it, but she hadn’t mentioned anything of Yurio at all. 

“I want to see what he was like when he was first becoming serious,” Viktor said calmly. “I already saw him when he was dancing and this is just the next logical step.” He frowned over at Yuri. “Yura, you don’t have to be here for this, you know. What are you going to learn?” he lectured. “This is not something that will benefit you. You should be practicing instead.”

Yuri shrugged as he slouched against the wall. “What does it hurt to see it?” he asked. “It’s not like he knows we’re watching the old videos…” he huffed and his cheeks were red. “I want to see if he was actually serious and why he f--” he paused when Yuuko directed her glare towards him and swallowed the curse. “Messed up so badly.”

Yuuko placed her hands on her hips, in full scolding mode at the two of them. “I am not going to have you watch something so private if you’re both going to be jerks about it,” she huffed. “You’re not going to judge him or make fun of him for it. We were all just having fun and Yuuri didn’t have a coach so he just watched videos --” she eyed Viktor at this and he had an idea of what sort of videos Yuuri watched and was wise enough to keep his mouth shut. “So don’t you dare judge him for doing his best!”

Yuri made a face at her lecture. “I just want to see what he was like,” he muttered, the tips of his ears red. “Viktor said he didn’t really start  _ skating _ until he was twelve.”

“No… he’s been skating since he was six,” Yuuko smiled, as if at an old memory, but it looked a little sad. “He didn’t do any fancy tricks or anything; we didn’t even know about the possibilities until we were older, but he would sneak away from home all the time to practice skating all the time. Like I said before, he was always here or at Minako-sensei’s.”

“There’s skating and there’s actual skating,” Yuri looked up at her, eyes narrowed faintly. “Katsudon may have enjoyed skating here and there and did the kid stuff, but …” he searched for the words. “I want to see the difference when he realized what he could do.” He jerked a thumb at Viktor. “Old man here wants to see it to, but for different reasons,” he smirked.

Viktor huffed and crossed his arms. “I do not wish to make fun of him and neither does Yura,” he said carefully. “I … I want to learn more about Yuuri; surely his skating style has evolved over years of learning, but those first moments are important as well.” His smile brightened. “Minako has shown me many videos of his recitals and I can already see the ghost of those movements in his skating.”

“Minako must have been really drunk to show you those,” Takeshi muttered under his breath, but was already fishing for the videos that were taken so long ago. He had filmed most of them; and at first it was mostly to film Yuuko, but as the years went by, the two of them had worked with Yuuri more, helping him refine his skating and encouraging him to try more and more. “I just know if I don’t show you now, my kids will find a way.”

They all were silent a moment as they contemplated that; having seen just what the triplets could organize, none of them doubted their ability.

Yuuko glanced to the door as if to make sure that Yuuri hadn’t suddenly appeared, before she pressed play in the dvd; she had long converted the memory cards onto a more playable format. She hadn’t watched the old videos in years, but she never wanted to get rid of them, either. She split her attention between the two skaters and the videos; Takeshi had picked a random one, from about when Yuuri was thirteen.

Yuri was staring at the screen intently, as if he was already analyzing the way the younger Yuuri skated to the center of the ice. She could hear her voice instructing Yuuri on a piece that they had seen together and while the video was a little wobbly, the picture itself was clear and the boy from years ago had a small, unsure smile on his face as he struck the opening pose.

“Ah--I know this one,” Viktor smiled, leaning his chin on his hand. “So his skating of my routines did not start this year…”

“No,” she gave him a glare. “I told you, he learned the basic figure skating moves by watching your routines-- well, you and other skaters, but mostly you.” Her cheeks were pink; Yuuri wasn’t the only one that had a crush on Viktor when they were younger. Yuuri just had never grown out of it. “So if it looks like a copy, that’s why. This was just for us, for fun,” she pointed a finger at him as Yuuri swept into the start of the routine.

Yuri’s intent expression didn’t change until the end of the routine, where he turned to Viktor and smirked. “Other than the lack of any real jumps, he skated that better than  _ you _ did.” He turned to Yuuko. “There’s more on here?” he asked, voice sharp. “I want to see if he still did more. He--” he gestured to the screen. “He always could do step sequences. Even then?”

Yuuko nodded; the video skipped to years down the road, she hadn’t placed them in any chronological order when she pulled from the card. This was fifteen year old Yuuri, who had learned more this time; who could do a double toe loop at this point and a triple lutz, who still skated as if he didn’t ever doubt what he could do on the ice. Yuuko’s heart hurt a little; she missed that Yuuri and hoped he’d find it again with these two. Even if Yuri had protested that he didn’t care about Yuuri at all, it was obvious there was some acknowledgement of his abilities, or else he wouldn’t have been trying so hard to beat him. 

Yuri looked almost wistful, the hard expression falling from his face. She sat down next to him, ignoring the way he tensed. “You would have liked Yuuri at that age, I think,” she said softly. Her voice in the background was encouraging Yuuri to try another routine, since he hadn’t tired himself out from the current one. He had moved into trying to create his own by that age, with Minako guiding him as she had with his dancing. “He was determined to do a lot on his own. He wasn’t as talented as you are, Yuri--” This Yuri was determined to win gold medals and was pushing himself into the Seniors division at the youngest age he could do so. “But he loved skating and was always pushing himself to try new things.”

“The idiot could have gone professional a lot sooner than he did,” Yuri muttered, looking down at his feet instead of the screen and to the side, Viktor was hesitantly asking questions of Takeshi in a mix of English and broken Japanese. “Why did he hesitate?” It wasn’t like Yurio could have faced him any earlier, but it was disgusting that Yuuri had let it go so long when he could have been showing the world how smoothly he moved on the ice so much sooner, instead of hiding away in a small town in the middle of nowhere. 

“He didn’t have a coach, for one,” Yuuko was looking at the younger Yuuri dancing through a silly routine, a bright smile on his face, skating closer to the camera, causing it to wobble for a moment before someone taller took a hold of it and her younger self was dragged onto the ice with a laughing Yuuri. “He didn’t think he could get one, but Minako still took him to local events and he won trophies and awards.” She gestured towards the trophy case nearby and she was pleased to see his eyes widen. 

“He… I….” Yuri was starting to turn red as his hands clenched into fists at his side. “He wasted all that time when he …” he stood up, annoyed. “I’ve seen enough,” he muttered. “Can I go skate?” He respected Yuuko enough to not  _ demand _ time on the ice, but to actually ask her and she smiled and patted his hand. 

“Go on,” she encouraged him. “I don’t know how much longer Viktor wants to watch these old videos, but I’ll let you know when we finish.” She gave him a conspiratorial wink. “Yuuri is actually skating right now, but don’t tell Viktor. I think he wanted to skate without having Viktor watching his every move.” Her voice lowered even more and she squeezed his hand. “Tell me if he skates like he did when we were kids?” she asked softly. 

He huffed and then gave a quick nod before standing up abruptly. “I’m sick of this,” he snapped. “Go and drool over the younger version of katsudon, Viktor. I’m going to actually skate.” 

Viktor gave a half-hearted wave, he was seemingly entranced by the various ages of Yuuri skating and he moved into Yuuko’s spot, cheerfully asking her questions and Yuri slipped away without any more fuss being made. 

_ I’m only doing this because Yuuko wanted to see if Yuuri was the same as before. _ He wasn’t even going to tell Yuuri he was there; he wasn’t going to stick around and skate. Maybe he’d yell at Yuuri a bit, to make himself feel better and bleed off some of the frustration of having so many years of opportunity wasted. 

He snuck into the main part of the rink; Yuuri was completely focused on his skating, not looking anywhere near the barrier, but instead moving around the rink in light-hearted steps, a small smile on his face. It wasn’t the same as when he was a kid and no matter what Yuuko wished, Yuri knew that Yuuri couldn’t go back to something so simple.

Still, it was almost relaxing until Yuuri tried to do a quad Sal and stepped out, nearly falling on the ice and Yuri had enough of sneaking around. He cupped his hands around his mouth and called out to Yuuri, enjoying the start and flush that moved over Yuuri’s face.

“Stay there, katsudon,” Yuri snapped, pointing a finger at him. “I’ll teach you how to actually do that correctly.” If he had the opportunity, he wasn’t going to hold Yuuri back. If he had to shove the older man, kicking and screaming onto the ice and in front of the world, he’d make sure that he knew his potential and the time for wasting his talent was  _ over _ . 

“I wasn’t planning on doing anything major,” Yuuri’s tone was cautious.”I don’t want any real lessons, Yuri…” 

“Sure you don’t,” Yuri was confident in this. “I’m not going to be like Viktor and demand you to do it. Just watch a master,” he smirked and leaned back. “I already know you can get the height, but you’re screwing up your landing. The ice  _ moves _ underneath your skates.”

“I know that,” Yuuri scowled at him, but he had a faint smile on his face. “Did you have your skates stashed here just in case you had the urge to show me up?” he asked. He moved backwards on his skates, turning into a graceful turn and back again. 

“No, I just want it to be fair when I wipe the rink with you,” Yuri felt a smile stretch across his face as he he did reach for the skates he had put away earlier. “Don’t shrink away from it, idiot. It won’t take that long, I know you can do it.” His expression softened for a moment, glad that no one else was around to see them. “Quads can be fun too, katsudon.” It was something that he loved and if Yuuri could share some of his dancing with him… he could share the ability to fly with Yuuri.

Yuuri blinked in surprise at that and then laughed, leaning back in a stretch, never losing his balance on the ice. “I’d like that,” he said softly. It seemed that he read more in what Yuri hadn’t said and Yuri was just grateful he didn’t have to be sappy out loud. 

“Just don’t tell Viktor,” he muttered. “Don’t want him getting any ideas,” he finished lacing up his skates and slid past Yuuri on the ice with ease. As long as no one else tore themselves away from Yuuri-in-the-past, no one would interfere with his Yuuri-in-the-now. 

“Sure, sure,” Yuuri laughed. “Your secret is safe with me.” 

~

Axel, Lutz and Loop giggled as quiet as they could as they faced the phone towards the two of them skating; this was something they  _ could _ upload to social media, but having it as blackmail could be so much better. 


End file.
